Las Vegas Valley sets March 12 record for rainfall
March 12, 2020 - 4:29 am
Updated March 13, 2020 - 12:32 am
The Las Vegas Valley set a rainfall record for March 12 at McCarran International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
The previous record for March 12 was 0.24 inches, set in 1973. As of 9 p.m., the rainfall total for Thursday had reached 0.77 inches, meteorologist Andy Gorelow said.
Rain began to fall at about 5:30 p.m. and lessened after about 9:15 p.m., when a flash flood warning that had been issued for south-central Clark County expired.
The weather service measured about three-quarters of an inch to an inch of rain in most places across the valley during the four-hour rain window Thursday night, Gorelow said.
Some streets in the valley experienced flooding by about 8 p.m.
The Clark County Regional Flood Control District advised that the center of any street is the safest to drive on during floods and to avoid the right lanes, where storm drains can cause “ponding.”
Flash flood watch
Earlier Thursday, the spring storm caused the agency to issue a flash flood watch for most of the Mojave Desert, including all of Clark County.
The watch runs through Friday morning.
“We are expecting 6 to 12 hours of rainfall (by) tomorrow morning,” said weather service meteorologist Alex Boothe. “We could see some moderate flooding and we will definitely see some roadway ponding and we may see some fog Friday morning.”
Snow in Lee Canyon
While rain earlier in the week didn’t bring much snow to the Spring Mountains, Thursday’s storm was expected to bring more snow to Lee Canyon and Kyle Canyon to a lesser extend, Boothe said.
“We expect 3 to 8 inches above 7,500 feet and perhaps 8 to 12 inches above 8,500 feet,” Boothe said.
More sun for weekend
Minor chances of rain are forecast for Saturday and Sunday, most likely in the mornings. The highs should be in the upper 60s.
The highs early next week will dip to the lower 60s.